fitness center scanning my drivers license bar code?

[maryws]

ok, I am just looking for some enlightenment here. I belong to Allstar and they used to have their own id cards that they just scanned when you came in to verify membership. Then they stopped issuing their own cards and started looking at your license, typing in your name for verification at check in. Just recently they are scanning the barcode on the back of the drivers license…and I don’t like that because I remember how the SSN was abused as a general id number and how fragile data security is…

I’ve spoken with them and asked them not to do this for me and to erase that barcode from their data base and they have done that (so this is not a rant) but I wonder if somebody can educate me as to whether there is any risk here for privacy or identity theft and whether other non-gvmt businesses are doing this (what does the YMCA use for id at checkin, for example). Am I being paranoid here or is this really something Allstar (or any other business) should not be doing?

any info appreciated.

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[Ken]

There will be more places scanning the barcode.

http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/barcodes.html

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[Bonnie]

The Y has Y issued cards. They have kids coming in with their own cards so I don’t think a drivers license would work for them.

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[KatherineL]

I’m with you, Mary. That’s too much information for them to have. They don’t need it.

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[j]

I was asking my husband about this and I knew he had a barcode reader on his cell phone. He scanned the code toward the bottom of the licence and the information that popped up was his driver’s license number and expiration date. The QR code at the top is probably something that contains all the information on the license, but they are probably not scanning this one.

I personally would prefer my gym to scan my driver’s license rather than printing me out a card which is sometimes not on me. My driver’s license goes every where with me and if it’s only identifying who I am, then so be it.

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[Author]

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